A story by Eeke - Inquiries to yourself at the end of the story
08:26 h A.M. Hurriedly, I jump on my bike to bring my little son to school. Quickly before my working day starts. A cutting cold wind enters my body from the opening at the top of the zip of my coat. “Oh shoot, I forgot to grab my scarf, but I won’t return now for that stupid thing. Just quick now, accelerate and reach the top of that bridge.”
I see other cyclists doing the same thing. While holding their jackets closed with one hand, they try to speed up in order to make the incline of the street to the top of the bridge without falling over.
Just before the top, on the most difficult part of the track, a woman decides to cross the street with her dog while holding her phone on speaker mode, nonchalantly in her hand so we all can hear the problems and complaints she and her friend have on this busy autumn morning. Her little dog almost gets run over by another cyclist, but she doesn’t notice it as she is busy dwelling on herself. ….. Irritation…..
As we make the top of the bridge, I relax back on my saddle, grateful I have conquered yet another mountain and the satisfying decent may begin. As we start to roll down leisurely, there are other road users approaching from the right, who officially have right of way. This means I need to break, but nobody wants to break after surviving that ascent, so I try to accelerate quickly in order to swiftly pass and make way for the onset of the rightful road users. As I just make it, I witness all kinds of almost-accidents occur with the cyclists that followed me of the bridge but just didn’t make it, before the imminent group from the right. Indignation and frustration appear on many faces while everybody thinks that his hurry has precedence above the hurry of the rest. ….Indignation and Frustration…
I observe someone open his car door mindlessly, therefor almost fatally catching a road biker. “Excellent…he dodged a bullet there” I determine annoyed.
While me and my son glide down with accelerating speed, I notice a woman passing me with her child on the front of her bike, just like me, but both of them with a helmet. “Am I supposed to get a helmet for us too? I would never forgive myself if my son would get an injury to the head because I didn’t put a helmet on him…”… Doubt….
But that thought gets blown away, by a huge jeep approaching us from the right. He has right of way of course, but he likes to claim that right gloriously by markedly pushing extra violently on his gas pedal …. Anger…
It hasn’t even been 3 minutes since I left my home, but I’m already exhausted from all the irritation, anger, doubt, indignation and frustration that I see all around me during the Amsterdam Bicycle Rush Hour.
At the busy intersection, where everything that God created as a means of transportation seems to come together at once, I’m standing still for one breath and ask my little son: “My darling, what catches your eye morning?”
Filled with enthusiasm he declares: “The Sun, mama! The sun!”
Darn! I hadn’t noticed it. Stunned I look around. I look up and notice an abundance of autumn leaves still hanging on the trees. Thousands of Fall colors, lit up by the fresh morning-sun her touch.
A myriad of pleasure flows on to my retina and streams into my heart.
“Wow, what a beautiful world we live in….”
Inquiry:
What are your perspectives that keep you hostage?
Where do you experience tension or stress in your life? If you would take the Sun perspective, what would you see?
Imagine you could let go of your stress, anger, frustration and fear…. If it would just glide off… Who would you become and what would you do? What would you life look like then?